College Football Cheat Sheet: Happy Halloween

Perhaps the most fun holiday on the entire calendar has arrived. Halloween is here and it is occurring on a Friday. That absolutely rocks for everyone. Once our candy hangovers set in, the calendar will move to November. College football’s final push has arrived.

There are only five games remaining in the regular season. Conference title races, playoff resumes, and the coaching carousel are all starting to become more real with each passing day. Coaching movement is taking up most of the oxygen right now (thanks, LSU) but there are still some big game left to be played.

This weekend will treat us to some potential elimination games.

The Slate

No. 25 Memphis at Rice	7:00pm (Friday)	ESPN2
North Carolina at Syracuse	7:30pm (Friday)	ESPN
Sam Houston at Louisiana Tech	8:00pm (Friday)	CBS Sports Network
Navy at North Texas	Noon	ESPN2
Buffalo at Bowling Green	Noon	ESPN+
UAB at UConn	Noon	CBS Sports Network
Penn State at No. 1 Ohio State	Noon	FOX
Rutgers at Illinois	Noon	NBC
No. 9 Vanderbilt at No. 20 Texas	Noon	ABC
Duke at Clemson	Noon	ACC Network
No. 10 Miami at SMU	Noon	ESPN
UCF at Baylor	Noon	ESPNU
West Virginia at No. 22 Houston	Noon	FS1
Army at Air Force	Noon	CBS
Arizona State at Iowa State	1:00pm	TNT
East Carolina at Temple	2:00pm	ESPN+
No. 16 Louisville at Virginia Tech	3:00pm	The CW
Delaware at Liberty	3:30pm	CBS Sports Network
Louisiana at South Alabama	3:30pm	ESPN+
Old Dominion at ULM	3:30pm	ESPN+
Fresno State at Boise State	3:30pm	FS1
New Mexico State at WKU	3:30pm	ESPN+
Pittsburgh at Stanford	3:30pm	ACC Network
No. 13 Texas Tech at Kansas State	3:30pm	FOX
No. 12 Notre Dame at Boston College	3:30pm	ESPN
Michigan State at Minnesota	3:30pm	Big Ten Network
No. 2 Indiana at Maryland	3:30pm	CBS
No. 5 Georgia vs. Florida (Jacksonville)	3:30pm	ABC
No. 15 Virginia at California	3:45pm	ESPN2
Mississippi State at Arkansas	4:00pm	SEC Network
Oklahoma State at Kansas	4:00pm	ESPN+
Central Michigan at Western Michigan	4:00pm	ESPNU
Arizona at Colorado	7:00pm	FS1
Wyoming at San Diego State	7:00pm	CBS Sports Network
Purdue at No. 21 Michigan	7:00pm	Big Ten Network
South Carolina at No. 7 Ole Miss	7:00pm	ESPN
No. 23 USC at Nebraska	7:30pm	NBC
Washington State at Oregon State	7:30pm	CBS
No. 18 Oklahoma at No. 14 Tennessee	7:30pm	ABC
Kentucky at Auburn	7:30pm	SEC Network
Wake Forest at Florida State	7:30pm	ACC Network
No. 8 Georgia Tech at NC State	7:30pm	ESPN2
Arkansas State at Troy	8:00pm	ESPNU
No. 17 Cincinnati at No. 24 Utah	10:15pm	ESPN
Hawaii at San Jose State	10:30pm	CBS Sports Network

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Elimination games, interim Cocktail Party in SEC

Texas A&M (5-0), Alabama (5-0), Georgia (4-1), and Ole Miss (4-1) sit atop the SEC standings. But there are two more teams with one loss who will be meeting on Saturday afternoon. Meanwhile, two teams with a pair of losses will be playing in a true elimination game.

Another big day in the SEC is on deck. ABC will have all of the action in an exciting triple-header.

— Vanderbilt (7-1, 3-1) at Texas (6-2, 3-1): The dream season keeps rolling on for Vanderbilt. On Saturday in Austin, the Commodores could see their third backup quarterback of the season. Arch Manning is listed as questionable as he recovers from a concussion. Troy transfer Matthew Caldwell could be next up. The Horns cannot afford another loss. Vandy could become one step closer to securing a playoff bid with a win this weekend.

— Georgia (6-1, 4-1) vs. Florida (3-4, 2-2): Interim head coach Billy Gonzales takes over for Florida and promises to spread it out more by allowing DJ Lagway to throw it around the yard. Georgia has had defensive issues this season, but I’m not sure the Gators can stop what has quietly become a top-15 offense. The Dawgs have a clear path to 7-1 in league play before a huge tilt with Georgia Tech on Black Friday.

— Oklahoma (6-2, 2-2) at Tennessee (6-2, 3-2): Hello, elimination game. The Sooners have two losses with remaining contests against with Alabama, Missouri, and LSU. They cannot afford a loss here. The Vols added almost nothing to the resume in the non-conference and still have Florida on the slate. They will not get in with three losses. There are big stakes for the dark mode game at Neyland Stadium. The best offense (Tennessee) in the SEC will be facing the best defense (Oklahoma) in this contest.

A snoozer in the Big Ten

This was supposed to be one of the biggest weekends of the season for the Midwest conference that stretches from coast to coast. Well, it took a hit when Penn State collapsed. Oregon and Iowa are both idle before a huge game next weekend in Iowa City. Meanwhile, a titanic game in Lincoln stands above the rest.

— Penn State (3-4, 0-4) at Ohio State (7-0, 4-0): Many expected the Nittany Lions to be undefeated and not winless in Big Ten play when this game was played. The nightmare season continues in State College as this coaching search gets ready for a big month. The Buckeyes very likely continue their march to an undefeated season, but Penn State still has the talent to matchup across the roster.

— Indiana (8-0, 5-0) at Maryland (4-3, 1-3): The Hoosiers are big three-touchdown favorite for this road game in College Park. The Terps have lost three consecutive Big Ten games by one-possession after holding a lead in the fourth quarter. Mike Locksley could be coaching for his job. Maryland feels better than their record. This could be a tricky spot for Curt Cignetti‘s team.

— USC (5-2, 3-1) at Nebraska (6-2, 3-2): Lincoln Riley never covers — and struggles to win — on road games away from the West Coast. Matt Rhule has a long losing streak against ranked teams. It feels like forever since Nebraska got a big win at home. The crowd will be juiced up, and both offenses could be primed for a shootout. There will be fireworks in Lincoln. The winner will remain in the playoff hunt. This feels like a true elimination game.

More shenanigans in the Big 12

BYU (5-0), Cincinnati (5-0), Texas Tech (4-1), and Houston (4-1) all sit at the top of the Big 12 standings. There are four two-loss teams right behind them. This conference title race is wide-open. Some things never change. Expect some shenanigans on Saturday.

— Texas Tech (7-1, 4-1) at Kansas State (4-4, 3-2): K-State has showed some life in recent weeks and that is allowing them to hang around in this conference title race. Now they’ll host a team they are 12-1 against over the last 13 meetings. This series has been a nightmare for the Red Raiders. They will look to change that in the Little Apple on Saturday afternoon. A win for the home team could really rock this conference race.

— Cincinnati (7-1, 5-0) at Utah (6-2, 3-2): How good is Cincinnati actually? The Bearcats are putting up big numbers on offense but have beaten nothing but three-loss teams so far. Well, Utah will be another three-loss team if they win in Salt Lake City. “College GameDay” is in town for this after dark window kick. It’s a huge stage for Scott Satterfield‘s team. A win would almost guarantee UC a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game.

ACC chaos probably isn’t going away

Georgia Tech (5-0) and Virginia (4-0) are setting the pace. Pittsburgh (4-1), Louisville (3-1), SMU (3-1), Duke (3-1), and Miami (2-1) are all within one game in the loss column of the top spot. It’s November. Things are about to get crazy in the ACC.

No conference has more intriguing games than this one on the card.

— Miami (6-1, 2-1) at SMU (5-3, 3-1): The Canes really cannot afford another loss. SMU just suffered its first ACC regular-season loss last week to Wake Forest. The winner will be in a good spot in this conference race. The loser could be out of playoff contention.

— Duke (4-3, 3-1) at Clemson (3-4, 2-3): Despite a bad non-conference run, Duke is alive in the ACC race with wins over NC State, Syracuse, and California. Clemson could end that in Death Valley on Saturday afternoon.

— Louisville (6-1, 3-1) at Virginia Tech (3-5, 2-2): Jeff Brohm put on a coaching clinic in that road win over Miami, but Louisville messed around with a bad Boston College team last week. We’ve seen Brohm teams drop clunkers on the road. Could there be one in Blacksburg? Virginia Tech has been scoring points and could become a live home dog.

— Pittsburgh (6-2, 4-1) at Stanford (3-5, 2-3): Just don’t mess around here, Pitt. You’re playing good football right now.

— Virginia (7-1, 4-0) at California (5-3, 2-2): The Hoos are having a dream season but it feels like they are playing with fire. Tony Elliott‘s squad has needed a 3-0 overtime record plus another one-possession victory to get to seven wins. Now they have to make the West Coast swing. Cal has a great chance to get a big home win.

— Georgia Tech (8-0, 5-0) at NC State (4-4, 1-3): The Yellow Jackets are rolling. The Wolfpack are reeling. However, Carter-Finley Stadium can be a tough place to play. This one could be worth keeping an eye on.

— Wake Forest (5-2, 2-2) at Florida State (3-4, 0-4): Jake Dickert is doing a remarkable job in year one at Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons are legitimately salty on defense. Florida State is reeling. Another loss could force the Seminoles made a hard call on Mike Norvell. He appears to have a chance to save his job over the last month, but FSU can’t afford a home loss here.